What’s going on here!

What exactly is science fiction? We all know what the purists say: many of the greatest and most entertaining science fiction films ever made simply do not qualify.

Okay, so the science is lousy or non-existent. The situations are absurd. Nearly human robots shouldn't be making mechanical clunking and grinding noises when they think and spaceships shouldn't scream and whine in a vacuum. Two guys can't design a rocket for the moon and that mad scientist obviously doesn't know the basics of modern biology!

But we all know they're fun.

And in the end, isn't that what matters?

So grab the popcorn, settle back in the big, comfy easy chair and enjoy. After all, it has to be good...

But, Wait! There Will Be More!

Love & Teleportation(2013)

The general complaint about this one has been that it resembles a “Hallmark Channel” movie.

This is both unfair and at the same time, mostly true. Mind you, I’m sure you would’t find a film with such a clear, carefully thought-out, science fictional premise on The Hallmark Channel.

A disgraced professor of Quantum Mechanics from a major university, finds himself stuck as a plain-old physics teacher at a community college. But that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his research in his garage – even if he did have to borrow the money from a violent and unreliable loan shark.

However, something unexpected happens when he meets one of his fellow teachers, a young and (yes, you know where this is going) beautiful art teacher…

This is, of course, a genuine Indie film, shot on a minimal budget, and yet it looks quite good and its cast give professional performances. In a way, it is yet another member of that ever growing club of Primer clones (like, say, Ghost in the Machine) featuring some ground-breaking scientific experiment taking place in the inventor’s garage. In this case it is teleportation.

Oh, you guessed that.

But instead of obsession or the threat of some disaster the new technology might cause, here the emphasis is on the growing romance between the two leads.

Admittedly, the final twist is fairly obvious – and it’s interesting to note how clearly the film’s underlying themes play into the final decisions its stars make. But it is well thought out, with all the clues about what’s happening neatly laid out.

Despite its obviousness, Love & Teleportation remains an enjoyable little film – and far better than anything the Hallmark Channel is likely to show anytime soon. Ultimately, what matters is not whether it meets our preconceived expectations and desires, but whether it achieves what it is trying to do.

And Love & Teleportation does that quite well

It is, in fact, a pretty good date movie for the hardcore SF fan – at least those who really don’t want to spend yet another evening watching the emotional struggles of yet another set of angst-y women.

Mark Cole hates writing bios. Despite many efforts he has never written one he likes, perhaps because there are many other things he'd rather be writing. He writes from Warren, Pennsylvania, where he has managed to avoid writing about himself for both newspaper and magazine articles. His musings on Science Fiction have appeared in Clarkesworld and at IROSF.com, while his most recent story, "Finale" appeared in Daily Science Fiction.